Merchant performed banking-type transactions

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a payment server, an identity of a customer based on data obtained from a mobile application executing on a device associated with the customer. The method includes creating a financial account for the customer. The method includes, upon receiving a request for a cash deposit or cash withdrawal via the mobile application, facilitating, by the payment server, generation of an electronic code to be used at a point-of-sale (POS) device of a merchant. The method includes receiving transaction information associated with a transaction involving the customer and the POS device of the merchant. The transaction information includes the electronic code. The method includes identifying, based on the transaction information, the financial account of the customer. The method includes causing an adjustment of a monetary balance of the financial account of the customer in a mapping database.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/529,583, filed 1 Aug. 2018, which is acontinuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/098,336, filed 5 Dec. 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,380,564 which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Banking today is typically done with banks or credit unions. To open anaccount, a customer can visit a branch office of a bank or a creditunion. The customer has to establish his or her identity, typicallyusing a form of government issued identification, such as a state issueddriver's license or identification card, or a federal government issuedpassport. The customer further needs to provide an address. Once theidentity of the customer is established, the bank or credit union cancreate an account, such as a checking account or a savings account, forthe customer. Upon creation of the account, the customer is able toperform transactions with the bank or credit union, such as making adeposit or a withdrawal.

The customer can make a deposit at a branch office of the bank or creditunion, or using an automated teller machine (ATM). To make a deposit ina branch office, the customer typically identifies her account to ateller, and provides some form of money to the teller, such as cash or acheck. The teller arranges for the account of the customer to becredited for the amount of the deposit. To make a deposit using an ATM,the customer inserts an ATM or debit card into an ATM. The customer thenenters her personal identification number (PIN) into the ATM, and theATM validates the PIN. Once validated, the ATM accepts some form ofmoney from the customer, and credits the customer's account for theamount of the deposit.

The customer can similarly make a withdrawal at a branch office of thebank or credit union, or using an ATM. To make a deposit in a branchoffice, the customer typically identifies her account to a teller, andestablishes their identity by providing a form of government issuedidentification. The teller arranges for the account of the customer tobe debited for the amount of the withdrawal. When the account hassufficient funds available for the withdrawal, the teller provides fundsin the amount of the withdrawal to the customer. To make a withdrawalusing an ATM, the customer inserts an ATM or debit card into an ATM. Thecustomer then enters her PIN into the ATM, and the ATM validates thePIN. Once validated, the ATM verifies that the customer's account hassufficient funds available for the withdrawal. If the funds areavailable, the ATM provides funds in the amount of the withdrawal to thecustomer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described and explainedthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating components of or associated with afirst embodiment of a system to enable a merchant to performbanking-type transactions;

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the flow of funds for a cash depositmade with a merchant by a customer;

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating the flow of funds for a cashwithdrawal made with a merchant by a customer;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method for acustomer to make a cash deposit;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating components of or associated with asecond embodiment of a system to enable a merchant to performbanking-type transactions;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method for creatinga financial account;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a first method forverifying the identity of a customer;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a second method forverifying the identity of a customer;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating operations for a customer to make abanking-type transaction; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example formof a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies or modulesdiscussed herein, may be executed.

The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be expanded orreduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Similarly, some components and/or operations may beseparated into different blocks or combined into a single block for thepurposes of discussion of some of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Moreover, while the technology of the disclosure is amenableto various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodimentshave been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described indetail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the disclosure tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the disclosure isintended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the scope of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This application discloses technology related to enabling a merchant toperform banking-type transactions, such as a deposit or a withdrawal. Amerchant, using a sales system such as a point of sales system that themerchant uses to sell goods, can perform banking-type transactions for acustomer. The sales system can send information related to thebanking-type transaction to, for example, a buyer/seller platform. Thebuyer/seller platform can enable merchants to engage in financialtransactions with customers for the sale of goods and/or services, andcan process the electronic payments (e.g., credit card or ATM payments)associated with the financial transactions. The buyer/seller platformcan deposit the funds from the electronic payments into the merchants'financial accounts.

When the banking-type transaction is a deposit, the customer can providethe deposit amount to the merchant. The buyer/seller platform can creditthe customer's financial account for the deposit amount. The platformcan accomplish the credit of the account by diverting a portion of themerchant's electronic payment funds corresponding to the deposit amountto the customer's financial account. While this diversion reduces theelectronic funds that are deposited in the merchant's financial accountby an amount corresponding to the customer's deposit, the merchant'sfunds remain whole. The merchant's funds remain whole as, on the plusside, the merchant received the cash deposit amount from the customer,and, on the minus side, had the electronic payment funds deposit reducedby the amount of the deposit.

Many people do not have convenient access to banks and/or credit unionswhen they need access. For example, a person in a rural area may need todrive a significant distance to go to a bank, or a worker getting offwork at midnight may not be able to find an open bank. Utilizing thedisclosed technology, these people can perform banking-type transactionswith a merchant. For example, the person in the rural area can go to alocal grocery store or gas station and make a deposit to a financialaccount. The worker getting off work at midnight can go to a 24-hourconvenience store and make a withdrawal from a financial account.

Additionally, many business people, for example taxi drivers, may acceptpayment cards (e.g., credit cards or ATM cards) to purchase goods and/orservices and not have timely access to those payment card funds. Forexample, if a taxi driver receives $100 in payment card payments duringa shift, the taxi driver may not be able to obtain the $100 till thenext day or even later. Utilizing the disclosed technology, the taxidriver can go to a merchant immediately following his shift and withdrawthe $100 of payment card payments he received during his shift, and themerchant can provide $100 in cash to the taxi driver for the withdrawal.

Further, many people around the world do not have an account with a bankor a credit union. Resultantly, a person may not have a safe place tokeep her money. There are many reasons why a person may not be able toopen an account. For example, the person may not have government issuedID (identification) to use to open the account, or the person may nothave an address, which can be required to open an account. For suchpeople, not having reasonable access to an account where money can besafely kept creates a hardship. Utilizing the disclosed technology, aperson without a government issued ID or an address can go to a localstore of a merchant, and the merchant can open a financial account forthe person. The merchant can further perform banking-type transactionsfor the person, for example depositing funds into the financial accountwhere the funds can be safely stored.

Walking through a simple example may be helpful in understanding thedisclosed technology. The following non-limiting example is provided tohelp in understanding the basics of the disclosed technology. A merchantuses a sales system to open a financial account for a customer. Thesales system is the same system that the merchant uses to sell goods,such as food and medicine. Because the customer does not have governmentissued ID, an alternative method of establishing identity can be used.The sales system can communicate with a computer system that has accessto personal information databases. For example, the computer system canobtain personal information from databases of credit reporting agencies,such as Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

The computer system, using personal information from the databases, cancreate and transmit personal questions to the sales system, which thecustomer can answer to establish identity. For example, the computersystem could ask what was the customer's residence address five yearsago, or what is the current outstanding balance for the customer's cellphone. The computer system could provide several possible answers fromwhich the customer would choose. If the customer is able to answersufficient personal questions correctly to establish her identity, thecomputer system can create a financial account for the customer. Thecustomer can now make banking-type transactions, such as deposits orwithdrawals, with the merchant or any other merchant that utilizes thedisclosed technology.

For example, the customer can go to a second store, and can make adeposit with a second merchant at the second store. To determine thecustomer's account, the second merchant can use a sales system to obtainidentifying information from the customer's cell phone. The sales systemcan transmit this identifying information to the computer system, andthe computer system can determine the financial account associated withthe cell phone. The second merchant can accept a cash deposit from thecustomer, and, using the sales system, can cause the financial accountof the customer to be credited for the amount of the deposit.

Terminology

Brief definitions of terms, abbreviations, and phrases used throughoutthis application are given below.

The terms “connected” or “coupled” and related terms are used in anoperational sense and are not necessarily limited to a direct physicalconnection or coupling. Thus, for example, two devices may be coupleddirectly, or via one or more intermediary media or devices. As anotherexample, devices may be coupled in such a way that information can bepassed there between, while not sharing any physical connection with oneanother. Based on the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate a variety of ways in which connection orcoupling exists in accordance with the aforementioned definition.

The phrases “in some embodiments,” “according to various embodiments,”“in the embodiments shown,” “in one embodiment,” “in other embodiments,”“various embodiments,” “some embodiments,” and the like generally meanthe particular feature, structure, or characteristic following thephrase is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention,and may be included in more than one embodiment of the presentinvention. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to thesame embodiments or to different embodiments.

If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”,“could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, thatparticular component or feature is not required to be included or havethe characteristic.

The term “module” refers broadly to software stored on non-transitorystorage medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory for a computingdevice), hardware, or firmware (or any combination thereof) components.Modules are typically functional components that can generate usefuldata or other output using specified input(s). A module may or may notbe self-contained. An application program (also called an “application”)may include one or more modules, or a module can include one or moreapplication programs.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating components of or associated with afirst embodiment of a system to enable a merchant to performbanking-type transactions. FIG. 1A includes buyer/seller platform 155,which can be implemented on a computer system, such as computer system150. Computer system 150 can be computer system 800 of FIG. 8 , and canbe referred to as a networked computer system. Buyer/seller platform 155can enable merchants to engage in financial transactions with customersfor the sale of goods and/or services, can process the electronicpayments associated with the financial transactions, and can depositfunds from the electronic payments to financial accounts associated withthe merchants.

For example, customer 180 can purchase a good from merchant 135, and canenter into a financial transaction associated with the purchase. Thefinancial transaction can include a payment by customer 180 for thegood, and the payment can be made by customer 180 using a payment card,such as a credit card or an ATM card. The payment card can be read bycard reader 120, and the payment card and purchase transactioninformation can be sent to buyer/seller platform 155 via computer system150. In some embodiments, buyer/seller platform 155 can receive thepayment card and purchase transaction information, and can process theelectronic payment made using the payment card utilizing financialsystem 160. Buyer/seller platform 155 can obtain the electronic paymentfunds from a financial account associated with the payment card, and cantransfer the electronic payment funds to a financial account associatedwith merchant 135.

In one example, customer 180 desires to open an account to safely holdcustomer 180's money. However, customer 180 may not be able to open anaccount with or have reasonable access to a bank or a credit union forsome of the previously discussed reasons. Customer 180 can enter a placeof business for a merchant, such as a grocery store run by merchant 135.Merchant 135 sells goods, such as food and medicine, and uses salessystem 105 to sell the goods. Sales system 105 is configured to be usedby merchant 135 to sell the goods, and can communicate with buyer/sellerplatform 155.

Customer 180 asks merchant 135 to open a financial account. Merchant135, using sales system 105, opens an account for customer 180, forexample, at buyer/seller platform 155. If customer 180 does not haveproper identification, merchant 135 can use sales system 105 to arrangefor an alternate method of identification. For example, merchant 135 canuse sales system 105 to indicate that customer 180 wants to open anaccount but does not have the proper identification. Sales system 105can communicate with buyer/seller platform 155, and buyer/sellerplatform 155 can provide an alternative method of identifying customer180.

As one example of an alternative method of identifying customer 180,buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit personal questions to salessystem 105 which customer 180 can answer to verify identity. Thepersonal questions can include, for example, what was customer 180'sresidence address five years ago, and can list a number of possibleanswers to select from. As a second example, the personal questions caninclude what is customer 180's current outstanding phone bill balanceand can list a number of possible answers to select from. Afterverifying customer 180's identity, merchant 135 can create a financialaccount for customer 180 using sales system 105. For example, salessystem 105 can transmit account creation information to buyer/sellerplatform 155, and buyer/seller platform 155 can create the financialaccount for customer 180.

Additional information can be linked to or associated with the financialaccount for various purposes. For example, for use as part of anidentification verification process, or to facilitate locating thefinancial account. As a first example, the financial account can belinked to mobile device 190. Sales system 105 can obtain identifyinginformation from mobile device 190, and can transmit the identifyinginformation to buyer/seller platform 155. Buyer/seller platform 155 canhave access to a storage device on computer system 150. The storagedevice can contain a mapping database and buyer/seller platform 155 canuse the mapping database to associate or link the identifyinginformation with the financial account.

As a second example, customer 180 can enter a personal identificationnumber (PIN) which can be linked to the financial account. Customer 180can enter a PIN, for example using sales system 105 or mobile device190, and the PIN can be transmitted to buyer/seller platform 155.Buyer/seller platform 155 can use the mapping database to associate orlink the PIN with customer 180's financial account. As a third example,a photo of customer 180 can be linked to the financial account. A photoof customer 180 can be taken, for example by sales system 105 or mobiledevice 190, and the photo can be transmitted to buyer/seller platform155. Buyer/seller platform 155 can use the mapping database to associateor link the photo with customer 180's financial account.

Once customer 180's financial account is created, customer 180 canperform banking-type transactions, such as a making a deposit or awithdrawal, utilizing the financial account. To make a deposit, customer180 can provide deposit money 185 to merchant 135, which merchant 135can place in cash drawer 125.

In some embodiments, the identity of customer 180 can be verified aspart of making a banking-type transaction, such as a deposit or awithdrawal. In some embodiments, to verify the identity of customer 180,customer 180 can enter a PIN using, for example, sales system 105 ormobile device 190. Sales system 105 can obtain identifying informationfrom mobile device 190, and can transmit the identifying information andthe PIN to buyer/seller platform 155. Buyer/seller platform 155 canexecute a database operation using the mapping database to obtainaccount information including the PIN for the financial accountassociated with the identifying information. In some embodiments,validation of the PIN completes the verification of the identity ofcustomer 180.

In some embodiments, merchant 135 can use a photo to verify the identityof customer 180. Sales system 105 can obtain identifying informationfrom mobile device 190, and can transmit the identifying information tobuyer/seller platform 155. Buyer/seller platform 155 can execute adatabase operation using the mapping database to obtain accountinformation including a photo for the financial account associated withthe identifying information. Buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit thephoto to sales system 105, and merchant 135 can use the photo tovalidate the identity of customer 180. In some embodiments, identityvalidation using the photo completes the verification of the identity ofcustomer 180. In other embodiments, both validation using the PIN andvalidation using the photo are needed to complete the verification ofthe identity of customer 180. A person having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that many other methods of verifying the identity ofcustomer 180 exist and can be used.

Continuing with customer 180's deposit, merchant 135 can obtainidentifying information from mobile device 190 using sales system 105.Sales system 105 can transmit the amount of customer 180's deposit andthe identifying information to buyer/seller platform 155. Computersystem 150 can include a storage device containing a mapping databasethat associates the identifying information with the financial account,and buyer/seller platform 155 can access the mapping database.Buyer/seller platform 155 can execute a database operation using themapping database to obtain account information for the financial accountassociated with the identifying information. Having the accountinformation for customer 180's financial account, buyer/seller platform155 can credit the financial account for the amount of customer 180'sdeposit, less a transaction fee. In some embodiments, the transactionfee can be zero.

Computer system 150 can include a storage device containing a mappingdatabase that associates sales system 105 with a financial account ofthe merchant (i.e., the merchant's financial account), and buyer/sellerplatform 155 can access the mapping database. Buyer/seller platform 155can determine the merchant's financial account by executing a databaseoperation using the mapping database to obtain account information forthe financial account associated with sales system 105. When customer180's deposit is successful, buyer/seller platform 155 can debit themerchant's financial account for the amount of the customer's cashdeposit less a transaction fee. In some embodiments, the transaction feecan be zero.

To make a withdrawal, customer 180 makes a withdrawal request for aspecified amount of money (i.e., the amount of customer 180's withdrawalrequest). For a withdrawal, the identity of customer 180 typically needsto be verified. The identity of customer 180 can be verified using aprocess, such as one of the previously described identity verificationprocesses. Sales system 105 can obtain identifying information frommobile device 190. Sales system 105 can transmit the amount of customer180's withdrawal request and the identifying information to buyer/sellerplatform 155. Buyer/seller platform 155 can execute a database operationusing the mapping database to obtain account information, including anaccount balance, for the financial account associated with theidentifying information.

When the account balance is sufficient to fund customer 180's withdrawalrequest, buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit a confirmation messageto sales system 105. Buyer/seller platform 155 can debit customer 180'sfinancial account for the amount of the withdrawal. In some embodiments,customer 180's financial account is debited for a transaction fee.Buyer/seller platform 155 can determine the merchant 135's financialaccount by executing a database operation using the mapping database toobtain account information for the financial account associated withsales system 105. When customer 180's withdrawal is successful,buyer/seller platform 155 can credit merchant 135's financial accountfor the amount of the customer's cash deposit plus a transaction fee. Insome embodiments, the second transaction fee can be zero.

With the identity of customer 180 having been verified, and with thewithdrawal request confirmed by buyer/seller platform 155, merchant 135can provide the requested amount of the withdrawal to customer 180.Typically, merchant 135 takes money from cash drawer money 130 toprovide the requested withdrawal amount to customer 180. In someembodiments, merchant 135 can provide the requested withdrawal amountless a transaction fee to customer 180.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the flow of funds for a cash depositmade with a merchant by a customer. The following description of FIG. 1Bwill be described using the system illustrated in FIG. 1A, and willrefer to labels of that figure. This is a non-limiting example and isdone with the intent of making the description of FIG. 1B easier tounderstand.

It is instructive to trace the flow of funds for a cash deposit. In theexample of FIG. 1B, a customer such as customer 180 desires to deposit$100 into a financial account, such as customer financial account 120.Customer financial account 120 can be at buyer/seller platform 155, orcan be at financial system 160. When at financial system 160, customerfinancial account 120 can be at a bank or credit union associated withfinancial system 160, among other locations. FIG. 1B shows a “$100deposit by customer” going into cash drawer 125. For example, customer180 provides deposit money 185, in this example $100, to merchant 135,who places the money in cash drawer 125.

During that same day, merchant 135 sells $1500 of goods and/or servicesto various customers. The customers pay for $1000 of the goods and/orservices using payment cards, such as credit cards or ATM cards, and payfor $500 of the goods and/or services with cash, the cash placed in cashdrawer 125. FIG. 1B shows “$1000 in payment card transactions frommultiple customers” going into sales system 105, for example, by swipingthe payment cards through card reader 120 to pay for the associatedpurchases.

Sales system 105 can send the purchase transaction and payment cardinformation to buyer/seller platform 155 for processing of the paymentcard transactions. FIG. 1B shows sales system 105 sending “$1000 inpayment card transactions for payment processing” to buyer/sellerplatform 155. As part of processing the payment card transactions,buyer/seller platform 155 obtains funds from accounts associated withthe payment cards. For example, if 5 customers each purchased $200 ofgoods and/or services each using a personal payment card, buyer/sellerplatform 155 would collect $200 from the account associated with each ofthe personal payment cards. Since this example has 5 payment cards used,each with an associated account, buyer/seller platform 155 would collect$200 from the 5 accounts associated with the 5 payment cards, the 5accounts comprising multiple payment card accounts 110. FIG. 1B showsbuyer/seller platform 155 obtaining “$1000 in funds for the payment cardtransactions” from multiple payment card accounts 110.

Merchant 135 made $1500 in sales for the day, so merchant 135 (ignoringthe various fees and transaction costs associated with the fundtransfers) should end the day with $1500 more in funds than he startedwith. Merchant 135 received $500 in cash in payment for goods and/orservices, and received a $100 deposit. So cash drawer 125 has $500+$100or $600 more in funds than at the start of the day. Of the $1000 inpayment card funds, FIG. 1B shows “$900 in funds for the payment cardtransactions” going to merchant financial account 115. Merchantfinancial account 115 is a financial account associated with merchant135. Merchant financial account 115 can be at buyer/seller platform 155,or can be at financial system 160. When at financial system 160,merchant financial account 115 can be at a bank or credit unionassociated with financial system 160, among other locations. At the endof the day, cash drawer 125 has $600 more in funds and merchantfinancial account 115 has $900 more in funds than at the start of theday, so merchant 135 has $600+$900=$1500 more in funds at the end of theday than he started with.

Customer 180 provided a deposit amount of $100 to merchant 135 thatcustomer 180 wanted deposited in customer financial account 120. Of the“$1000 in funds for the payment card transactions” that are transferredfrom multiple payment card accounts 110 to buyer/seller platform 155,“$100 in funds for the cash deposit” are transferred from buyer/sellerplatform 155 to customer financial account 120. So the “$1000 in fundsfor the payment card transactions” are split by buyer/seller platform155 with “$900 in funds for the payment card transactions” beingdeposited in merchant financial account 115, and “$100 in funds for thecustomer cash deposit” being deposited in customer financial account120.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating the flow of funds for a cashwithdrawal made with a merchant by a customer. The following descriptionof FIG. 1C will be described using the system illustrated in FIG. 1A,and will refer to labels of that figure. This is a non-limiting exampleand is done with the intent of making the description of FIG. 1C easierto understand.

It is instructive to trace the flow of funds for a cash withdrawal. Inthe example of FIG. 1C, a customer such as customer 180 desires towithdraw $100 from a financial account, such as customer financialaccount 120. FIG. 1C shows a “$100 cash withdrawal by customer” goingfrom cash drawer 125 to the customer. For example, merchant 135 providesmoney from cash drawer 125, in this example $100, to customer 180.

During that same day, merchant 135 sells $1500 of goods and/or servicesto various customers. The customers pay for $1000 of the goods and/orservices using payment cards, and pay for $500 of the goods and/orservices with cash, the cash placed in cash drawer 125. FIG. 1C shows“$1000 in payment card transactions from multiple customers” going intosales system 105, for example, by swiping the payment cards through cardreader 120 to pay for the associated purchases.

Sales system 105 can send the purchase transaction and payment cardinformation to buyer/seller platform 155 for processing of the paymentcard transactions. FIG. 1C shows sales system 105 sending “$1000 inpayment card transactions for payment processing” to buyer/sellerplatform 155. FIG. 1C shows buyer/seller platform 155 obtaining “$1000in funds for the payment card transactions” from multiple payment cardaccounts 110.

Merchant 135 made $1500 in sales for the day, so merchant 135 (ignoringthe various fees and transaction costs associated with the fundtransfers) should end the day with $1500 more in funds than he startedwith. Merchant 135 received $500 in cash in payment for goods and/orservices, and paid out $100 for the cash withdrawal. So cash drawer 125has $500 $100 or $400 more in funds than at the start of the day. Of the“$1000 in payment card funds, FIG. 1C shows $1000 in funds for thepayment card transactions” going to merchant financial account 115. FIG.1C shows “$100 in funds for the customer cash withdrawal” going fromcustomer financial account 120 to buyer/seller platform 155, and thenfrom buyer/seller platform 155 to merchant financial account 115. At theend of the day, cash drawer 125 has $400 more in funds and merchantfinancial account 115 has $1000+$100 or $1100 more in funds than at thestart of the day, so merchant 135 has $400+$1100=$1500 more in funds atthe end of the day than he started with.

Customer 180 obtained $100 from merchant 135 that customer 180 wanted towithdraw from customer financial account 120. “$100 in funds for thecustomer cash withdrawal” is withdrawn from customer financial account120 and is deposited to merchant financial account 115. This results incustomer financial account 120 having $100 less than at the start of theday, as should be the case given that customer 180 wanted to withdraw$100 from customer financial account 120.

The customer of FIGS. 1A-1C, for example customer 180, can also be asecond merchant, and customer financial account 120 can be a secondmerchant financial account for the second merchant. The second merchant,similar to merchant 135, can make sales that are paid for with paymentcards, and buyer/seller platform 155 can process those payment cardpayments and deposit funds obtained from accounts associated with thepayment cards into the second merchant financial account. When thesecond merchant makes a deposit or withdrawal at the first merchant,rather than buyer/seller platform 155 making a deposit to or withdrawalfrom the second merchant financial account that directly corresponds tothe amount of the deposit or withdrawal, buyer/seller platform 155 canadjust the payment card fund deposit into the second merchant financialaccount corresponding to the amount of the deposit or withdrawal.

For example, the second merchant can deposit $100 at the first merchantto go to the second merchant financial account. The second merchant canmake $1000 in payment card sales that same day. Buyer/seller platform155, rather than depositing $100 directly into the second merchantfinancial account, can make one deposit of $1100, the one depositincluding the $1000 of payment card funds plus the $100 deposit amount.Similarly, if the second merchant withdraws $100 at the first merchantfrom the second merchant financial account, buyer/seller platform 155can make one deposit of $900, the one deposit including the $1000 ofpayment card funds less the $100 withdrawal. A person of ordinary skillwill appreciate that the various transfer/deposit amounts can beadjusted based on various fees and charges that are associated with thevarious transactions, and that more than one deposit to or withdrawalfrom the second merchant financial account can be made.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method for acustomer to make a cash deposit. The following description of FIG. 2will be described using the system illustrated in FIG. 1A, and willrefer to labels of that figure. This is a non-limiting example and isdone with the intent of making the description of FIG. 2 easier tounderstand. Note that, in some embodiments, including the embodiment ofFIG. 1A, all steps of the method of FIG. 2 can be carried out bycomputer system 150 as well as buyer/seller platform 155. In someembodiments, some or all transaction fees associated with the steps ofFIG. 2 are zero.

Step 205 includes receiving information associated with the cash depositincluding an amount of the cash deposit. The cash deposit can be thecustomer's cash deposit. The information can be from a sales systemconfigured to be used by a merchant to sell goods. Using the example ofFIG. 1A, customer 180 initiates a deposit transaction and providesdeposit money 185 to merchant 135. Merchant 135 uses sales system 105 tosell goods, and sales system 105 is configured to be used by merchant135 to sell goods. Sales system 105 can transmit the amount of customer180's deposit to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155.Step 205 can include computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 receiving, from sales system 105, which is configured to be used bymerchant 135 to sell goods, information associated with a cash depositincluding an amount of customer 180's cash deposit.

Step 210 includes receiving identifying information obtained from amobile device associated with a customer. The identifying informationcan be sent by the sales system and the mobile device can be thecustomer's mobile device. Step 210 can occur before or after step 205.Using the example of FIG. 1A, merchant 135 can obtain identifyinginformation from mobile device 190 using sales system 105. Sales system105 can transmit the identifying information to computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155. Step 210 can include computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving, from sales system 105,identifying information obtained from mobile device 190, which isassociated with customer 180.

Step 215 includes determining the customer's cash account based on anassociation with the identifying information. Step 215 can occur inresponse to step 210 or can occur before or after step 205. Using theexample of FIG. 1A, computer system 150 can include a storage devicecontaining a mapping database that associates the identifyinginformation with the customer's financial account. The customer's cashaccount can be determined by computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 performing a database operation to determine a cash accountassociated with the identifying information. Step 215 can includecomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 determining thecustomer's cash account based on an association with the identifyinginformation, such as by performing a database operation to determine acash account associated with the identifying information.

Step 220 includes crediting the customer's cash account for the amountof the customer's cash deposit less a first transaction fee. Step 220can occur in response to steps 215 and 205. In step 215 the customer'scash account was determined. Using the example of FIG. 1A, step 220 caninclude computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 creditingcustomer 180's financial account for the amount of customer 180's cashdeposit, less a first transaction fee. In some embodiments, the firsttransaction fee is zero. In some embodiments the financial account is acash account.

In some embodiments, the funds for the deposit can come from fundsobtained from accounts associated with payment cards. This flow of fundsis similar to FIG. 1B where the “$100 in funds for the customer cashdeposit” going to customer financial account 120 can come from multiplepayment card accounts 110. The “$1000 in payment funds for the paymentcard transactions” that was obtained from multiple payment card accounts110 go to buyer/seller platform 155, which sends the “$100 in funds forthe customer cash deposit” to customer financial account 120. Step 220can have a flow of funds that is similar to FIG. 1 B.

Step 225 includes determining the merchant's cash account based on anassociation with the sales system. Step 225 can occur before all of orafter any of steps 205-220. Using the example of FIG. 1A, computersystem 150 can include a storage device containing a mapping databasethat associates sales system 105 with a financial account of themerchant (i.e., the merchant's financial account). In some embodiments,a financial account is a cash account. Step 225 can include computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 determining the merchant'sfinancial account based on an association with the sales system, such asby executing a database operation using the mapping database to obtainaccount information for the financial account associated with salessystem 105.

Step 230 includes debiting the merchant's cash account for the amount ofthe customer's cash deposit less a second transaction fee. Step 230 canoccur in response to step 225 or step 220 or step 205. Using the exampleof FIG. 1A, step 230 can include computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 debiting the merchant's financial account for the amount ofcustomer 180's cash deposit less a second transaction fee. In someembodiments, the second transaction fee is zero. In some embodiments,the financial account is a cash account.

In some embodiments, rather than debiting the merchant's cash account,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can reduce anamount of a deposit in the merchant's cash account by an amountcorresponding to the amount of the customer's cash deposit. This flow offunds is similar to FIG. 1 B. For a typical prior art merchant, $1000 inpayment card transactions would lead to a deposit in the merchant'sfinancial account of $1000 (ignoring various fees). In FIG. 1 B, thedeposit is reduced by the “$100 cash deposit by customer”, so instead ofdepositing “$1000 in funds for the payment card transactions” inmerchant financial account 115, “$900 in funds for the payment cardtransactions” is deposited in merchant financial account 115. Thedeposit is reduced by an amount corresponding to the “$100 in funds forthe customer cash deposit.” Step 230 can have a flow of funds that issimilar to FIG. 1B.

Step 235 includes transmitting, to the sales system, a first messageconfirming the cash deposit. Step 240 can occur in response to steps 220and 230. Using the example of FIG. 1A, step 235 can include computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 transmitting, to salessystem 105, a first message confirming the cash deposit to customer180's financial account.

Step 240 includes transmitting, to a mobile device and/or an emailaccount associated with the mobile device, a second message confirmingthe cash deposit. Step 240 can occur in response to steps 220 and 230,or before or after step 235. Using the example of FIG. 1A, in someembodiments, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155transmits to mobile device 190 a second message confirming the cashdeposit to customer 180's financial account. In some embodiments,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 transmits to anemail account associated with mobile device 190 a second messageconfirming the cash deposit to customer 180's financial account. In someembodiments, step 240 can include computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 transmitting messages confirming the cashdeposit to customer 180's financial account to mobile device 190 and/orto an email account associated with mobile device 190.

Step 245 includes transmitting, to the sales system, a photo of a personassociated with the mobile device to verify an identity. Step 245 canoccur after any of steps 205-215, or after all of steps 205-215, orbefore step 205, step 210, or steps 205 and 210. Using the example ofFIG. 1A, in some embodiments, computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 transmits, to sales system 105, a photo of customer 180.Customer 180 is associated with mobile device 190. Step 245 can includetransmitting, to sales system 105, the photo of customer 180 to verifythe identity of customer 180. For example, merchant 135 can compare thephoto as displayed on sales system 105 to customer 180, and can verifythe identity of customer 180 based on the comparison.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating components of or associated with asecond embodiment of a system to enable a merchant to performbanking-type transactions. FIG. 3 includes sales system 305, computersystem 150, and financial system 360. Sales system 305 is coupled tocomputer system 150, and computer system 150 is coupled to financialsystem 360. In some embodiments, financial system 360 includes paymentprocessing service 361, financial service 362, and bank 363. Computersystem 150 is coupled to payment processing service 361, paymentprocessing service 361 is coupled to financial service 362, andfinancial service 362 is coupled to bank 363.

Identifying object 390 is compatible with computer system 150. Invarious embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a magnetic stripecard, a smart card, a proximity card, a re-programmable magnetic stripecard, a card containing a quick response (QR) code, a card containing abar code, a government issued identification card, a proxy card, or abiometrically identifiable object, such as a finger, a hand, an iris, aretina, or a face, among others. A proxy card is a card that can beassociated with various payment mechanisms, examples of paymentmechanisms including credit cards, charge cards, ATM cards, debit cards,pre-paid credit cards, pre-paid debit cards, gift cards, stored valuecards, and fleet cards, among others. In some embodiments, identifyingobject 390 can be a mobile device. Examples of mobile devices includesmart phones such as an iPhone, tablets such as an iPad, portable mediadevices such as an iPod, wearable devices such as Google Glass orSamsung Smartwatch, or a laptop or other portable computer.

Sales system 305 can include systems that can perform the banking-typetransactions including communicating with computer system 150, and thatcan be used by merchant 135 to sell goods. Examples of systems that cancomprise sales system 305 include point of sale (POS) systems, cashregisters, computer systems running sales applications including mobiledevices running sales applications, cloud based POS systems, checkoutregisters, computer systems running internet based applications such asa web browser, and the like. A person of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that there are many systems that can comprise sales system305.

In some embodiments where identifying object 390 is a biometricallyidentifiable object, such as a finger, a hand, an iris, a retina, or aface, sales system 305 can identify the biometrically identifiableobject. In some embodiments, sales system 305 can obtain biometricinformation from the biometrically identifiable object and can transmitthe biometric information to a second computer system. The secondcomputer system can use the biometric information to identify thebiometrically identifiable object. For example, when the biometricallyidentifiable object is a finger, sales system 305 can obtain biometricinformation related to the fingerprint of the finger. In someembodiments, sales system 305 can recognize the fingerprint to identifythe finger (e.g., this is the finger of Jane Doe). For example, salessystem 305 can include a biometric scanner coupled to a computer system,such as a point of sale system. The biometric scanner can scan customer180's fingerprint, can transmit the biometric scan results to thecomputer system to which the biometric scanner is coupled, and thecomputer system can use customer 180's fingerprint to identify thefinger.

In some embodiments, sales system 305 can transmit the data related tothe fingerprint to a second computer system. For example, to a computeserver associated with the seller, to computer system 150, to financialsystem 360, to payment processing service 361, or to another computersystem, and the second computer system can use the transmittedfingerprint data to identify the finger. The second computer system cantransmit identifying information associated with the finger to salessystem 305.

In some embodiments where identifying object 390 is a mobile device,sales device 105 can obtain identifying information associated with themobile device. In some embodiments where identifying object 390 is asmart phone, sales system 305 can communicate with the smart phone via3G to obtain identifying information related to a digital walletassociated with the smart phone. Sales system 305 in various embodimentscan communicate with the mobile device via WiFi, 3G, 4G, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), or Bluetooth, or can obtain a QR code or a bar codeor any machine readable code from the mobile device, for example, byscanning a QR code or bar code displayed by the mobile device. Salessystem 305 can further transmit the identifying information to computersystem 150.

In some embodiments, financial system 360 can include payment processingservice 361, financial service 362, and bank 363. Payment processingservice 161 can be, for example, Bank of America Merchant Services.Financial service 362 can be, for example, VISA's VisaNet PaymentSystem. Bank 363 can be, for example, Chase Bank. A person havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are a number ofcompanies that provide payment processing services, financial services,and banking services, and that can provide the services of paymentprocessing service 361, financial service 362, and bank 363,respectively.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method for creatinga financial account. The following description of FIG. 4 will bedescribed using the system illustrated in FIG. 3 , and will refer tolabels of that figure. This is a non-limiting example and is done withthe intent of making the description of FIG. 4 easier to understand.Note that, in some embodiments, including the embodiment of FIG. 3 , allsteps of the method of FIG. 4 can be carried out by computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155.

Step 405 includes receiving identity information for a customer. Usingthe example of FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, customer 180 can enter aplace of business for a merchant, such as coffee shop run by merchant135. Merchant 135 sells goods, such as coffee and pastries, and usessales system 305 to sell the goods. Sales system 305 is configured to beused by a merchant to sell goods. Customer 180 asks merchant 135 to opena financial account. Merchant 135, using sales system 305, begins theprocess of opening a financial account for customer 180. Customer 180provides identity information, which can be entered into sales system305 and transmitted to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receivesidentity information for customer 180.

In some embodiments, customer 180 can use a computer system, such as amobile device or a personal computer, to create a financial account. Thecomputer system can access a website associated with computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155, or the computer system can runapplication software. Customer 180 can use the website or theapplication software to create a financial account. Customer 180provides identity information to the website or to the applicationsoftware, and the website or the application software causes theidentity information to be transmitted to computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 receives identity information for customer 180.

Step 410 includes verifying the identity of the customer. Step 410 canoccur in response to step 405. In some embodiments, step 410 cancomprise the method of FIG. 5 . Using the example of FIG. 3 , in someembodiments, customer 180 has identification which meets theidentification requirements. Customer 180 can have, for example,government issued identification, such as a state issued driver'slicense or identification card, or a federal government issued passport.Sales system 305 can obtain identity information for customer 180. Forexample, sales system 305 can obtain identity information, such as adriver's license number and an address, from a state issued driver'slicense. Sales system 305 can transmit the identity information tocomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, and computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can use the identityinformation to verify the identity of customer 180.

In some embodiments, customer 180 can use a website or applicationsoftware to create a financial account. When customer 180 hasidentification which meets the identification requirements, the websiteor the application software can obtain identity information for customer180 from the identification. The website or application can cause theidentity information to be transmitted to computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can use this identity information to verify the identity ofcustomer 180.

In some embodiments, sales system 305 can arrange for an alternatemethod of identification. For example, sales system 305 can communicatewith computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, and computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can provide an alternativemethod of identifying customer 180.

As one example of an alternative method of identifying customer 180,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can obtain personalinformation from personal information databases, such as from thedatabases of credit report agencies such as Experian, Equifax, andTransUnion. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 cantransmit personal questions based on the personal information to salessystem 305 which customer 180 can answer to verify identity. Thepersonal questions can include, for example, what was customer 180'sresidence address five years ago and can list a number of possibleanswers to select from. As a second example, the personal questions caninclude what is customer 180's current outstanding phone bill balanceand can list a number of possible answers to select from. Computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can verify the identity ofcustomer 180 by comparing customer 180's personal question responses,received by computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 fromsales system 305, to the personal information obtained from the personalinformation databases. In some embodiments, when identifying object 390is a mobile device, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can transmit the personal questions to the mobile device, and canreceive the personal question responses from the mobile device.

In some embodiments, customer 180 can use a website or applicationsoftware to create a financial account. The website or the applicationsoftware can arrange for an alternative method of verifying the identityof customer 180, such as the alternative method discussed above. Insteadof transmitting the questions to sales system 305, in some of theseembodiments, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 cantransmit the questions to customer 180 via the website or theapplication software. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can verify the identity of customer 180 by comparing customer 180'spersonal question responses, caused to be transmitted to computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 by the website or the applicationsoftware, to the personal information obtained from the personalinformation databases.

Step 415 includes creating a financial account. Step 415 can occur inresponse to step 405 or step 410 or steps 405 and 410. Using the exampleof FIG. 3 , computer system 150 can include a storage device containinga database of financial accounts. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can create a financial account by making theappropriate changes to the database of financial accounts. A person ofordinary skill in the art will appreciated that there are many ways tocreate a financial account.

Step 420 includes associating the financial account with the customer.Step 420 can occur in response to step 415. Using the example of FIG. 3, computer system 150 can include a storage device containing a mappingdatabase that associates the financial account with the customeridentity information. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can use the mapping database to associate the financial account withthe identity information for customer 180. A person of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that there are many ways to associate thefinancial account with the identity information for customer 180.

Step 425 includes receiving identifying information for an identifyingobject. Step 425 can occur after step 415 or after step 420 or beforeany of or all of steps 405-420. Using the example of FIG. 3 , in someembodiments, identifying object 390 can be a mobile device. Sales system305 can obtain identifying information from the mobile device. Salessystem 305 can transmit the identifying information to computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can receive the identifying information forthe mobile device.

In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a biometricallyidentifiable object, such as a finger, a hand, an iris, a retina, or aface. Sales system 305 can obtain identifying information for thebiometrically identifiable object, such as by using a biometric scannerthat is part of sales system 305, and can transmit this identifyinginformation to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155.Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can receive theidentifying information for the biometrically identifiable object.

In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be an object, such as amagnetic stripe card, a smart card, a proximity card, a re-programmablemagnetic stripe card, a card containing a quick response (QR) code, acard containing a bar code, or a government issued identification card.Sales system 305 can obtain identifying information from these objects,for example by using a card reader or a scanner that is part of salessystem 305, and can transmit this identifying information to computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can receive the identifying information forthe object.

In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a proxy card. Salessystem 305 can obtain identifying information from the proxy card, forexample by using a card reader or a scanner that is part of sales system305, and can transmit this identifying information to computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can receive the identifying information forthe proxy card.

Step 430 includes associating the identifying information for theidentifying object with the financial account. Step 430 can occur inresponse to steps 425 and 415. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computersystem 150 can include a storage device containing a mapping databasethat associates the identifying information for identifying objects withfinancial accounts. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can execute a database operation using the mapping database to associatethe identifying information for identifying object 390 with thefinancial account.

Step 435 includes receiving a passcode. Step 435 can occur before orafter step 425 or step 430, and can occur after any of steps 405-420.Using the example of FIG. 3 , customer 180 can provide a passcode. Invarious embodiments, the passcode can be a personal identificationnumber (PIN), or a password, or a pass phrase. The passcode can becomprised of numbers, can be comprised of numbers and letters, can becomprised of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks, or can becomprised of any characters. The passcode can also include spaces.

In some embodiments, the passcode can be entered using sales system 305,and sales system 305 can transmit the passcode to computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155, where computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 receives the passcode. In some embodiments,when identifying object 390 is a mobile device, the passcode can beentered using the mobile device. The mobile device can transmit thepasscode to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, wherecomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receives thepasscode. In some embodiments, the passcode can be entered via thewebsite or the application software, and the website or the applicationsoftware can cause the passcode to be transmitted to computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155, where computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 receives the passcode.

Step 440 includes associating the passcode with the financial account.Step 440 can occur in response to step 435. Using the example of FIG. 3, computer system 150 can include a storage device containing a mappingdatabase that associates passcodes with financial accounts. Computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can execute a databaseoperation using the mapping database to associate the passcode with thefinancial account. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat there are many ways to associate the passcode with the financialaccount.

Step 445 includes receiving a photo. Step 445 can occur after steps 415and 420, or can occur before or after any of steps 425-440. Using theexample of FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, sales system 305 can obtain aphoto of customer 180. Sales system 305 can transmit the photo tocomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, where computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receives the photo. In someembodiments, when identifying object 390 is a mobile device, the mobiledevice can obtain a photo of customer 180. The mobile device cantransmit the photo to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155, where computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receivesthe photo. In some embodiments, the website or the application softwarecan obtain a photo of customer 180. The website or the applicationsoftware can cause the photo to be transmitted to computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155, where computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 receives the photo.

Step 450 includes associating the photo with the financial account. Step450 can occur in response to step 445. Using the example of FIG. 3 ,computer system 150 can include a storage device containing a mappingdatabase that associates photos with financial accounts. Computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can execute a database operationusing the mapping database to associate the photo with the financialaccount. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatthere are many ways to associate a photo with a financial account.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a first method forverifying the identity of a customer. In some embodiments, the method ofFIG. 5 can be used to verify the identity of a customer when creating afinancial account, and can represent step 410 of FIG. 4 . The followingdescription of FIG. 5 will be described using the system illustrated inFIG. 3 , and will refer to labels of that figure. This is a non-limitingexample and is done with the intent of making the description of FIG. 5easier to understand. Note that, in some embodiments, including theembodiment of FIG. 3 , all steps of the method of FIG. 5 can be carriedout by computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155.

Step 505 includes receiving identity information for a customer. Usingthe example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 receives identity information for customer 180. The identityinformation can include anything that will enable computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 locate a database entry associated withcustomer 180. The identity information can include, for example, thename of customer 180, the address of customer 180, the social securitynumber of customer 180, the driver's license number of customer 180, thestate identification card number of customer 180, the passport number ofcustomer 180, or a phone number for customer 180.

Step 510 includes locating a database entry associated with the customerin a database. Step 510 can occur in response to step 505. Using theexample of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can locate a database entry associated with customer 180 in a database.In some embodiments, computer system 150 includes a storage devicecontaining a personal information database that associates the identityinformation with customer 180. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can perform a database operation to locate a database entryassociated with customer 180 in the personal information database.

In some embodiments, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can communicate with another computer system that includes a storagedevice containing a personal information database that associates theidentity information with customer 180. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can locate a database entry associated withcustomer 180 in a database by transmitting the identity information toanother computer system, and the other computer system can locate adatabase entry associated with customer 180 in a personal informationdatabase. For example, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can communicate with a computer system of a credit reporting agency,such as Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can transmit the identity information forcustomer 180 to a computer system of a credit reporting agency, and thecomputer system of the credit reporting agency can locate a databaseentry associated with customer 180 in a personal information database.

Step 515 includes obtaining personal information from the databaseentry. Step 515 can occur after step 505 or 510. Using the example ofFIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can obtainpersonal information from the database entry. In some embodiments,computer system 150 includes a storage device containing a personalinformation database that associates personal information with customer180. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can perform adatabase operation to obtain personal information associated withcustomer 180 from the personal information database.

In some embodiments, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can communicate with another computer system that includes a storagedevice containing a personal information database that associatespersonal information with customer 180. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can obtain personal information associatedwith customer 180 from the personal information database by sending amessage to request personal information related to customer 180 to theother computer system. The other computer system can perform a databaseoperation to obtain personal information associated with customer 180from the personal information database.

For example, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 cansend a message requesting personal information associated with customer180 to a computer system of a credit reporting agency, such as Experian,Equifax, or TransUnion. The computer system of the credit reportingagency can perform a database operation to obtain personal informationassociated with customer 180 from a personal information database. Thecomputer system of the credit reporting agency can transmit the personalinformation associated with customer 180 to computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155, resulting in computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 obtaining personal information associated withcustomer 180 from the personal information database of the creditreporting agency.

Step 520 includes causing a personal question using the personalinformation to be created. Step 520 can occur in response to step 515.Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can cause a personal question using the personalinformation to be created. In some embodiments, computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can create the personal question usingthe personal information. In some embodiments, computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit a message to anothercomputer system that causes the other computer system to create apersonal question using the personal information. The personal questioncan include, for example, what was customer 180's residence address fiveyears ago and can list a number of possible answers to select from. As asecond example, the personal question can include what is customer 180'scurrent outstanding phone bill balance and can list a number of possibleanswers to select from.

Step 525 includes transmitting the personal question. Step 525 can occurin response to step 520. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit the personal question.For example, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 cantransmit the personal question to sales system 305, or, when identifyingobject 390 is a mobile device, to the mobile device.

Step 530 includes receiving a response to the personal question. Step530 can occur in response to step 525. Using the example of FIG. 3 ,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can receive aresponse to the personal question. For example, customer 180 can answerthe personal question using sales system 305, or, when identifyingobject 390 is a mobile device and the personal question was transmittedto the mobile device, using the mobile device. Sales system 305 or themobile device can transmit customer 180's response to the personalquestion to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155,resulting in computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155receiving a response to the personal question.

Step 535 includes verifying the response based on the personalinformation. Step 535 can occur in response to step 530. Using theexample of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can verify the response based on the personal information. For example,if the personal question is “what was customer 180's residence addressfive years ago?”, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can use the personal information to determine customer 180's residenceaddress five years ago, and can compare customer 180's response to thedetermined residence address.

Step 540 includes verifying the identity of the customer based at leastin part on the response to the personal question. Step 540 can occur inresponse to step 535. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can verify the identity of the customerbased at least in part on the response to the personal question. Forexample, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 candetermine whether customer 180 provided an answer to the personalquestion that matched the personal information from the personalinformation database. When customer 180's answer matches the personalinformation from the personal information database, it is more likelythat customer 180 is the person associated with the identityinformation. When customer 180's answer does not match the personalinformation from the database, it is less likely that customer 180 isthe person associated with the identity information. Computer system 180can verify the identity of customer 180 based at least in part oncustomer 180's response to the personal question.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a second method forverifying the identity of a customer. In some embodiments, the method ofFIG. 6 can be used to identify a customer after a financial account hasbeen created for the customer, and a passcode and a photo of thecustomer has been associated with the financial account. The followingdescription of FIG. 6 will be described using the system illustrated inFIG. 3 , and will refer to labels of that figure. This is a non-limitingexample and is done with the intent of making the description of FIG. 6easier to understand. Note that, in some embodiments, including theembodiment of FIG. 3 , all steps of the method of FIG. 6 can be carriedout by computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155.

Step 605 includes receiving identifying information associated with acustomer. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can receive identifying information associatedwith customer 180. In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be amobile device, and the identifying information can obtained from themobile device. For example, when identifying object 390 is a mobiledevice, sales system 305 can obtain identifying information associatedwith the mobile device that is associated with customer 180. Salessystem 305 can transmit the identifying information to computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, resulting in computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving identifying informationassociated with customer 180.

In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a biometricallyidentifiable object, such as a finger, a hand, an iris, a retina, or aface, and the identifying information can be obtained from thebiometrically identifiable object. For example, sales system 305 canobtain identifying information, such as biometric information, from thebiometrically identifiable object. Sales system 305 can transmit theidentifying information to computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155, resulting in computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 receiving identifying information associated with customer180.

In various embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a magnetic stripecard, a smart card, a proximity card, a re-programmable magnetic stripecard, a card containing a quick response (QR) code, a card containing abar code, a government issued identification card. Sales system 305 canobtain identifying information from identifying object 390, for exampleby reading identifying information from identifying object 390 using acard reader that is part of sales system 305, or by scanning identifyingobject 390 with a scanner that is part of sales system 305. Sales system305 can transmit the identifying information to computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155, resulting in computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving identifying informationassociated with customer 180.

In some embodiments, identifying object 390 can be a proxy card. A proxycard is a card that can be associated with various payment mechanisms.Sales system 305 can obtain identifying information from identifyingobject 390, for example by reading identifying information from theproxy card using a card reader that is part of sales system 305, or byscanning the proxy card with a scanner that is part of sales system 305.Sales system 305 can transmit the identifying information to computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, resulting in computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving identifyinginformation associated with customer 180.

Step 610 includes determining a financial account associated with thecustomer. Step 610 can occur in response to step 605. Using the exampleof FIG. 3 , computer system 150 can include a storage device containinga mapping database that associates identifying information withfinancial accounts. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can execute a database operation using the mapping database to determinethe financial account associated with the identifying information. Thefinancial account is associated with customer 180.

In some embodiments, when identifying object 390 is a biometricallyidentifiable object, computer system 150 can include a storage devicecontaining a mapping database. The mapping database can associateidentity information, for example the name of customer 180, and“reference identifying information,” for example a fingerprint ofcustomer 180 taken when the financial account was created, with thefinancial account. Customer 180 can provide identity information, suchas a name, to merchant 135. Merchant 135 can use sales system 305 toobtain identifying information from identifying object 390. For example,sales system 305 can obtain a fingerprint from customer 180.

Sales system 305 can transmit the identity information (e.g., customer180's name) and the identifying information (e.g., customer 180'sfingerprint) to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155.Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can execute adatabase operation using the mapping database to obtain the referenceidentifying information, for example the reference fingerprint ofcustomer 180, associated with the financial account. In someembodiments, when the received identifying information (e.g., customer180's fingerprint) and the reference identifying information (e.g., thereference fingerprint from the mapping database) are a match, theidentity of customer 180 is verified.

Step 615 includes receiving a passcode associated with the financialaccount. Step 615 can occur before or after step 605 or step 610. Usingthe example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can receive a passcode associated with the financial account. Insome embodiments, computer system 150 can include a storage devicecontaining a mapping database that associates the financial account witha passcode. In some embodiments, customer 180 can enter a passcode usingsales system 305, and sales system 305 can transmit the passcode tocomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, resulting incomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving apasscode associated with the financial account. In some embodiments,when identifying object 390 is a mobile device, customer 180 can enter apasscode using the mobile device. The mobile device can transmit thepasscode to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155,resulting in computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155receiving a passcode associated with the financial account. In someembodiments, when the received passcode and the passcode obtained fromthe mapping database match, the identity of customer 180 is verified.

Step 620 includes transmitting a photo associated with the financialaccount. Step 620 can occur in response to step 605 or step 610 orbefore or after step 615. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can transmit a photo associatedwith the financial account. In some embodiments, computer system 150 caninclude a storage device containing a mapping database that associatesthe financial account with a photo. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can perform a database operation to obtain thephoto associated with the financial account. Computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can transmit the photo, which is associatedwith the financial account, to sales system 305.

Step 625 includes receiving a message confirming that the photo is aphoto of the customer. Step 625 can occur in response to step 620. Usingthe example of FIG. 3 , merchant 135 can compare the photo to customer180. Sales system 305 can transmit a photo verification confirmationmessage to computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 whenmerchant 135 confirms that the photo is a photo of customer 180.

In some embodiments, when computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 receives the photo verification confirmation message, theidentity of customer 180 is verified. In some embodiments, bothverification of customer 180 using the passcode and verification ofcustomer 180 using the photo are required to complete the verificationof the identity of customer 180.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating operations for a customer to make abanking-type transaction. The following description of FIG. 7 will bedescribed using the system illustrated in FIG. 3 , and will refer tolabels of that figure. This is a non-limiting example and is done withthe intent of making the description of FIG. 7 easier to understand.Note that, in some embodiments, including the embodiment of FIG. 3 , allsteps of the method of FIG. 7 can be carried out by computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155.

Customer 180 can create a financial account using, for example, themethod of FIG. 4 , which can also associate a passcode and a photo withthe financial account. After creating the financial account, customer180 can make a banking-type transaction with merchant 135. Examples ofbanking-type transactions include deposits, withdrawals, loans, cashadvances, transfers, opening accounts, and closing accounts, amongothers. In some embodiments, computer 150 is controlled by or associatedwith a financial entity. The financial entity, in contrast to a bank ora credit union, may be prevented from holding funds (i.e., money) forcustomers such as customer 180.

In some embodiments, computer 150 is controlled by or associated with afinancial entity. The financial entity, in contrast to a bank or acredit union, may be prevented from holding funds (i.e., money) forcustomers such as customer 180. In some embodiments, a monetary balanceof a customer financial account of the financial entity can be held by afund holding entity, such as a bank or a credit union, rather than bythe financial entity. In some embodiments, the financial entity has afund holding account, which can hold monetary balances of multiplecustomer financial accounts, with the fund holding entity. The financialentity can maintain an accounting of the monetary balance of eachcustomer financial account of the multiple customer financial accounts,while the funds for the multiple customer financial account can be heldby the fund holding company in the fund holding account. For example,the financial entity can have a bank account with a bank, the bankaccount can hold the monetary balances of all of the customer financialaccounts of the financial entity, and the financial entity can maintainan accounting of the monetary balance of each customer financialaccount.

Step 705 includes receiving, from a sales system configured to be usedby a merchant to sell goods, transaction information associated with abanking-type transaction including a type and an amount of thebanking-type transaction. Using the example of FIG. 3 , merchant 135sells goods, and uses sales system 305 to sell the goods. Sales system305 is configured to be used by merchant 135 to sell the goods. In someembodiments, the configuration of sales system 305 is by including acard reader and a scanner to enable merchant 135 to use the card readerand the scanner to sell goods. In some embodiments, the configuration ofsales system 305 is by including memory containing instructions that,when executed, enable sales system 305 to perform as a point of salesystem for selling goods.

Customer 135 can make a banking-type transaction, such as a deposit or awithdrawal, with merchant 135. To make a deposit, customer 180 canprovide deposit money 185 to merchant 135. In some embodiments, theidentity of customer 180 can be verified as part of making the deposit.For example, the identity of customer 180 can be verified using anembodiment of the method of FIG. 6 . In some embodiments, noidentification of customer 180 is required to make a deposit.Identifying information, for example as discussed in the method of FIG.6 , can be obtained from identifying object 390 by sales system 305.Sales system 305 can transmit the identifying information, along withthe transaction information, to computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155. The transaction information can include the type of thebanking-type transaction (i.e., a deposit), and the amount of thedeposit. The transmission results in computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 receiving, from sales system 305, transactioninformation associated with the banking-type transaction.

To make a withdrawal, customer 180 can make a withdrawal request for aspecific amount of money (i.e., the amount of customer 180's withdrawalrequest) to merchant 135. In some embodiments, the identity of customer180 can be verified as part of making the withdrawal. For example, theidentity of customer 180 can be verified using an embodiment of themethod of FIG. 6 . In some embodiments, customer 180 can be known tomerchant 135, and no further identity verification of customer 180 isneeded. Identifying information, for example as discussed in the methodof FIG. 6 , can be obtained from identifying object 390 by sales system305. Sales system 305 can transmit the identifying information, alongwith the transaction information to computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155. The transaction information can include thetype of the banking-type transaction (i.e., a withdrawal), and theamount of the withdrawal. The transmission results in computer system150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving, from sales system 305,transaction information associated with the banking-type transaction.

Step 710 includes receiving identifying information associated with thecustomer. Step 710 can occur before or after step 705. Using the exampleof FIG. 3 , identifying information, for example as discussed in themethod of FIG. 6 , can be obtained from identifying object 390 by salessystem 305. Sales system 305 can transmit the identifying information tocomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155, resulting incomputer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 receiving theidentifying information, which is associated with customer 180.

Step 715 includes determining a financial account associated with theidentifying information. Step 715 can occur in response to step 710.Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 can include a storagedevice containing a mapping database associating identifying informationwith financial accounts. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can determine the financial account associated with theidentifying information by performing a database operation to determinethe financial account associated with the identifying information.

Step 720 includes determining a monetary balance of the financialaccount. Step 720 can occur after step 715 or in response to step 705.Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 can include a storagedevice containing a mapping database associating monetary balances withfinancial accounts. Computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155can determine the monetary balance of the financial account byperforming a database operation using the mapping database.

Step 725 includes causing an adjustment to the monetary balance of thefinancial account based on the type and the amount of the banking-typetransaction. Step 725 can occur in response to step 705 or after any ofsteps 710-720. Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/orbuyer/seller platform 155 can cause the adjustment of the monetarybalance of the financial account. When the banking-type transaction is adeposit transaction, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform155 can cause the adjustment by, for example, adjusting the monetarybalance of the financial account by increasing the monetary balancebased on the deposit amount.

For example, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 canincrease the monetary balance of the financial account by the amount ofthe deposit, or by the amount of the deposit less a transaction fee(i.e., by an amount less than the deposit amount), or by some otheramount based on the amount of the deposit. As a second example, computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can cause the adjustment bysending a message to a second computer system that causes the secondcomputer system to adjust the monetary balance.

In addition to adjusting the financial account associated with customer180, computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can cause anadjustment to a different financial account, the different financialaccount associated with merchant 135 (i.e., merchant 135's financialaccount). When the banking-type transaction is a deposit transaction,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can adjust themonetary balance of merchant 135's financial account by decreasing themonetary balance based on the deposit amount. For example, computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can decrease the monetarybalance of merchant 135's financial account by the amount of thedeposit, or by the amount of the deposit less a transaction fee (i.e.,by an amount smaller than the deposit amount), or by some other amountbased on the amount of the deposit.

When the banking-type transaction is a withdrawal transaction, computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can cause the adjustment ofthe monetary balance of the financial account by decreasing the monetarybalance based on the withdrawal amount. For example, computer system 150and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can decrease the monetary balance ofthe financial account by the amount of the withdrawal, or by the amountof the withdrawal plus a transaction fee (i.e., by an amount larger thanthe withdrawal amount), or by some other amount based on the amount ofthe withdrawal.

In addition to causing the adjustment of the financial accountassociated with customer 180, computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can cause the adjustment of merchant 135's financialaccount. When the banking-type transaction is a withdrawal transaction,computer system 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can adjust themonetary balance of merchant 135's financial account by increasing themonetary balance based on the deposit amount. For example, computersystem 150 and/or buyer/seller platform 155 can increase the monetarybalance of merchant 135's financial account by the amount of thedeposit, or by the amount of the deposit plus a transaction fee (i.e.,by an amount larger than the deposit amount), or by some other amountbased on the amount of the deposit.

Step 730 includes transmitting a confirmation message to confirm thebanking-type transaction. Step 730 can occur in response to step 725.Using the example of FIG. 3 , computer system 150 and/or buyer/sellerplatform 155 can transmit a confirmation message to confirm thebanking-type transaction.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example formof a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies or modulesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In the example of FIG. 8 , thecomputer system 800 includes a processor, memory, non-volatile memory,and an interface device. Various common components (e.g., cache memory)are omitted for illustrative simplicity. The computer system 800 isintended to illustrate a hardware device on which any of the componentsdepicted in the example of FIGS. 1-7 (and any other components describedin this specification) can be implemented. The computer system 800 canbe of any applicable known or convenient type. The components of thecomputer system 800 can be coupled together via a bus or through someother known or convenient device.

This disclosure contemplates the computer system 800 taking any suitablephysical form. As example and not by way of limitation, computer system800 may be an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip (SOC), asingle-board computer system (SBC) (such as, for example, acomputer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), a desktop computersystem, a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, amainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a server, or a combination of two or more ofthese. Where appropriate, computer system 800 may include one or morecomputer systems 800; be unitary or distributed; span multiplelocations; span multiple machines; or reside in a cloud, which mayinclude one or more cloud components in one or more networks. Whereappropriate, one or more computer systems 800 may perform withoutsubstantial spatial or temporal limitation one or more steps of one ormore methods described or illustrated herein. As an example and not byway of limitation, one or more computer systems 800 may perform in realtime or in batch mode one or more steps of one or more methods describedor illustrated herein. One or more computer systems 800 may perform atdifferent times or at different locations one or more steps of one ormore methods described or illustrated herein, where appropriate.

The processor may be, for example, a conventional microprocessor such asan Intel Core microprocessor or an Intel Itanium microprocessor or aMotorola power PC microprocessor or a SPARC architecture processor. Oneof skill in the relevant art will recognize that the terms“machine-readable (storage) medium” or “computer-readable (storage)medium” include any type of device that is accessible by the processor.

The memory is coupled to the processor by, for example, a bus. Thememory can include, by way of example but not limitation, random accessmemory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM). Thememory can be local, remote, or distributed.

The bus also couples the processor to the non-volatile memory and driveunit. The non-volatile memory cane be a magnetic floppy or hard disk, amagnetic-optical disk, an optical disk, a flash memory such as NANDflash memory or NOR flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM) such as aCD-ROM, a programmable read-only memory such as EPROM or EEPROM, amagnetic or optical card, or another form of storage for large amountsof data. Some of this data is often written, by a direct memory accessprocess, into memory during execution of software in the computer 800.The non-volatile storage can be local, remote, or distributed. Thenon-volatile memory is optional because systems can be created with allapplicable data available in memory. A typical computer system willusually include at least a processor, memory, and a device (e.g., a bus)coupling the memory to the processor.

Software is typically stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the driveunit. Indeed, for large programs, storing the entire program in memorymay not even be possible. Nevertheless, one should understand that forsoftware to run, if necessary, the software is moved to a computerreadable location appropriate for processing, and for illustrativepurposes, that location is referred to as the memory in this paper. Evenwhen software is moved to the memory for execution, the processor willtypically make use of hardware registers to store values associated withthe software, and local cache that, ideally, serves to speed upexecution. As used herein, a software program is assumed to be stored atany known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage to hardwareregisters) when the software program is referred to as “implemented in acomputer-readable medium.” A processor is considered to be “configuredto execute a program” when at least one value associated with theprogram is stored in a register readable by the processor.

The bus also couples the processor to the network interface device. Theinterface can include one or more of a modem or network interface. Aperson of ordinary skill will appreciate that a modem or networkinterface can be considered to be part of the computer system 800. Theinterface can include an analog modem, ISDN modem, cable modem, tokenring interface, satellite transmission interface (e.g., “direct PC”),Wi-Fi interface, or other interfaces for coupling a computer system toother computer systems. The interface can include one or more inputand/or output devices. The I/O devices can include, by way of examplebut not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse or other pointing device, diskdrives, printers, a scanner, and other input and/or output devices,including a display device. The display device can include, by way ofexample but not limitation, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), or some other applicable known or convenient displaydevice. For simplicity, this disclosure assumes that controllers of anydevices not depicted in the example of FIG. 8 reside in the interface.

The computer system can have one Bus or multiple Buses. A bus caninclude for example, a system bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect(PCI) bus or PCI-Express bus, a HyperTransport or industry standardarchitecture (ISA) bus, a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, auniversal serial bus (USB, USB 2.0, USB 3.0), IIC (I2C) bus, anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 1394bus, also called “Firewire,” a QuickPath Interconnect bus, a ThunderBoltinterconnect bus, a DisplayPort interconnect bus or its companionstandards Mini DisplayPort (mDP), Direct Drive Monitor (DDM), EmbeddedDisplayPort (eDP), Internal DisplayPort (iDP), Portable Digital MediaInterface (PDMI), Wireless DisplayPort (wDP), and Mobility DisplayPort(MyDP), an HDMI interconnect bus, a DVI bus.

In operation, the computer system 800 can be controlled by operatingsystem software that includes a file management system, such as a diskoperating system. One example of operating system software withassociated file management system software is the family of operatingsystems known as Windows® from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.,and their associated file management systems. Another example ofoperating system software with its associated file management systemsoftware is the Linux™ operating system and its associated filemanagement system. The file management system is typically stored in thenon-volatile memory and/or drive unit and causes the processor toexecute the various acts required by the operating system to input andoutput data and to store data in the memory, including storing files onthe non-volatile memory and/or drive unit.

Some portions of the detailed description may be presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. Referring to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like has proven convenientat times, principally for reasons of common usage.

One should bear in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,one should appreciate that throughout the description, discussionsutilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or “generating” or the like, refer to theaction and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within registers and memories of thecomputer system into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or constructing more specialized apparatus to perform themethods of some embodiments may prove more convenient. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will appear from thedescription below. In addition, the techniques are not described withreference to any particular programming language, and variousembodiments may thus be implemented using a variety of programminglanguages.

In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone deviceor may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personalcomputer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, an iPhone, aBlackberry, a smart phone, a processor, a telephone, a web appliance, anetwork router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing aset of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to betaken by that machine.

While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storage medium isshown in an embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readablemedium” and “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to includea single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one ormore sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” and“machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include anymedium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set ofinstructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine toperform any one or more of the methodologies or modules of the presentlydisclosed technique and innovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure, may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when readand executed by one or more processing units or processors in acomputer, cause the computer to perform operations to execute elementsinvolving the various aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machineor computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include but are not limitedto recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, opticaldisks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital VersatileDisks, (DVDs), etc.), Blu-ray disks, among others, and transmission typemedia such as digital and analog communication links.

In some circumstances, operation of a memory device, such as a change instate from a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa, for example, maycomprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation. Withparticular types of memory devices, such a physical transformation maycomprise a physical transformation of an article to a different state orthing. For example, but without limitation, for some types of memorydevices, a change in state may involve an accumulation and storage ofcharge or a release of stored charge. Likewise, in other memory devices,a change of state may comprise a physical change or transformation inmagnetic orientation or a physical change or transformation in molecularstructure, such as from crystalline to amorphous or vice versa. Theforegoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all examples inwhich a change in state for a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versain a memory device may comprise a transformation, such as a physicaltransformation. Rather, the foregoing is intended as illustrativeexamples.

A storage medium typically may be non-transitory or comprise anon-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage mediummay include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device has aconcrete physical form, although the device may change its physicalstate. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device remainingtangible despite this change in state.

A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there arevarious other ways to implement the described functionality. The scopeof this disclosure also includes embodiments implementing the describedfunctionality in these various other ways. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications, and variations as fall within the scope of the claims,together with all equivalents thereof.

Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may bepracticed without some of these specific details. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

Embodiments of the present invention include various steps. The stepsmay be performed by hardware components or may be embodied inmachine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may beperformed by a combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a paymentserver, a request from a mobile application executing on a deviceassociated with a customer to initiate a deposit of an amount ofphysical currency with a merchant or a withdrawal of the amount ofphysical currency, from the merchant, wherein the deposit or withdrawalcauses a modification to an internal monetary balance of a financialaccount of the customer, wherein the financial account of the customerhas been created based on an identity of the customer by writing dataobtained from the mobile application to a mapping database maintained bythe payment server that automatically and remotely links the data withthe financial account, wherein the internal monetary balance correspondsto an amount of funds associated with the financial account managed bythe payment server on behalf of the customer; facilitating, by thepayment server, generation of an electronic code corresponding to therequest to be used at a point-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant;associating, by the payment server, the electronic code with thefinancial account of the customer in the mapping database; receiving, bythe payment server, transaction information associated with atransaction involving the customer and the POS device of the merchant,wherein the electronic code is obtained by the POS device from thedevice associated with the customer by scanning the device associatedwith the customer, wherein the transaction information includes theelectronic code corresponding to the request, and wherein the POS deviceis configured to process payments for a plurality of customers;identifying, by the payment server in the mapping database, thefinancial account of the customer by querying the mapping database usingthe electronic code; adjusting, by the payment server in the mappingdatabase and based at least in part on an amount of physical currencydeposited or withdrawn via the transaction, the internal monetarybalance of the financial account of the customer and an internalmonetary balance associated with a financial account of the merchant bymodifying, in the mapping database, a balance of physical currencyassociated with the merchant and a balance of electronic fundsassociated with the merchant by a value based at least in part on theamount deposited or withdrawn via the transaction; and transmitting, bythe payment server and to at least one of the mobile application or thePOS device, a confirmation message confirming the adjustment based onthe transaction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmationmessage confirming the adjustment is transmitted to the POS device ofthe merchant.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the confirmation messageconfirming the adjustment is transmitted to the mobile applicationexecuting on the device associated with the customer.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the transaction is a deposit of physical currency withthe merchant, and the method further comprises reducing an amount of atransfer of funds from a plurality of accounts to the account of themerchant based at least in part on the amount of physical currencydeposited or withdrawn via the transaction.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the payment server is operated by an entity other than a bank ora credit union.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein scanning the deviceassociated with the customer comprises retrieving the electronic codefrom the device associated with the customer via wireless communication.7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the financial account ofthe customer further comprises verifying that the electronic code isvalid for the financial account of the customer.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the electronic code is generated at the mobile applicationexecuting on the device associated with the customer to include theamount received with the request and the identity of the customer. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein, subsequent to the electronic code beinggenerated, the electronic code is stored by the mobile applicationexecuting on the device associated with the customer.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the device associated with the customer is any one of asmart phone, a tablet, a portable media device, a wearable device, or aportable computer.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein: the request fromthe customer is to initiate the deposit of physical currency with themerchant; and subsequent to adjusting the internal monetary balance ofthe financial account of the customer in the mapping database, an amountbased at least in part on the amount of physical currency is usable bythe customer in real time.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thetransaction is associated with a withdrawal, and the method furthercomprises transmitting, by the payment server and to the POS device, anotification that the internal monetary balance of the financial accountof the customer is sufficient to cover the transaction.
 13. The methodof claim 1, wherein scanning the device associated with the customercomprises reading a machine readable code displayed by the deviceassociated with the customer.
 14. A payment server comprising: one ormore processors; and one or more computer-readable non-transitorystorage media in communication with the one or more processors andcomprising instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, are configured to cause the payment server to performoperations comprising: receiving, by the payment server, a request froma mobile application executing on a device associated with a customer toinitiate a deposit of an amount of physical currency with a merchant ora withdrawal of the amount of physical currency from the merchant,wherein the deposit or withdrawal causes a modification to an internalmonetary balance of a financial account of the customer, wherein thefinancial account of the customer has been created based on an identityof the customer by writing data obtained from the mobile application toa mapping database maintained by the payment server that automaticallyand remotely links the data with the financial account, wherein theinternal monetary balance corresponds to an amount of funds associatedwith the financial account managed by the payment server on behalf ofthe customer; facilitating, by the payment server, generation of anelectronic code corresponding to the request to be used at apoint-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant; associating, by the paymentserver, the electronic code with the financial account of the customerin the mapping database; receiving, by the payment server, transactioninformation associated with a transaction involving the customer and thePOS device of the merchant, wherein the electronic code is obtained bythe POS device from the device associated with the customer by scanningthe device associated with the customer, wherein the transactioninformation includes the electronic code corresponding to the request,and wherein the POS device is configured to process payments for aplurality of customers; identifying, by the payment server in themapping database, the financial account of the customer by querying themapping database using the electronic code; adjusting, by the paymentserver in the mapping database and based at least in part on an amountof physical currency deposited or withdrawn via the transaction, theinternal monetary balance of the financial account of the customer andan internal monetary balance associated with a financial account of themerchant by modifying, in the mapping database, a balance of physicalcurrency associated with the merchant and a balance of electronic fundsassociated with the merchant by a value based at least in part on theamount deposited or withdrawn via the transaction; and transmitting, bythe payment server and to at least one of the mobile application or thePOS device, a confirmation message confirming the adjustment based onthe transaction.
 15. The payment server of claim 14, wherein theconfirmation message confirming the adjustment is transmitted to the POSdevice of the merchant.
 16. The payment server of claim 14, wherein theconfirmation message confirming the adjustment is transmitted to themobile application executing on the device associated with the customer.17. The payment server of claim 14, wherein the transaction is a depositof physical currency with the merchant, and the method further comprisesreducing an amount of a transfer of funds from a plurality of accountsto the account of the merchant based at least in part on the amount ofphysical currency deposited or withdrawn via the transaction.
 18. Thepayment server of claim 14, wherein scanning the device associated withthe customer comprises retrieving the electronic code from the deviceassociated with the customer via wireless communication.
 19. One or morecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media including instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors of a payment server, areconfigured to cause the one or more processors to perform operationscomprising: receiving, by the payment server, a request from a mobileapplication executing on a device associated with a customer to initiatea deposit of an amount of physical currency with a merchant or awithdrawal of the amount of physical currency from the merchant, whereinthe deposit or withdrawal causes a modification to an internal monetarybalance of a financial account of the customer, wherein the financialaccount of the customer has been created based on an identity of thecustomer by writing data obtained from the mobile application to amapping database maintained by the payment server that automatically andremotely links the data with the financial account, wherein the internalmonetary balance corresponds to an amount of funds associated with thefinancial account managed by the payment server on behalf of thecustomer; facilitating, by the payment server, generation of anelectronic code corresponding to the request to be used at apoint-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant; associating, by the paymentserver, the electronic code with the financial account of the customerin the mapping database; receiving, by the payment server, transactioninformation associated with a transaction involving the customer and thePOS device of the merchant, wherein the electronic code is obtained bythe POS device from the device associated with the customer by scanningthe device associated with the customer, wherein the transactioninformation includes the electronic code corresponding to the request,and wherein the POS device is configured to process payments for aplurality of customers; identifying, by the payment server in themapping database, the financial account of the customer by querying themapping database using the electronic code; adjusting, by the paymentserver in the mapping database and based at least in part on an amountof physical currency deposited or withdrawn via the transaction, theinternal monetary balance of the financial account of the customer andan internal monetary balance associated with a financial account of themerchant by modifying, in the mapping database, a balance of physicalcurrency associated with the merchant and a balance of electronic fundsassociated with the merchant by a value based at least in part on theamount deposited or withdrawn via the transaction; and transmitting, bythe payment server and to at least one of the mobile application or thePOS device, a confirmation message confirming the adjustment based onthe transaction.
 20. The one or more computer-readable non-transitorystorage media of claim 19, wherein the instructions are furtherconfigured to cause the one or more processors to perform operationsfurther comprising transmitting, to the POS device of the merchant, aconfirmation of the adjustment of the internal monetary balance of thefinancial account of the merchant.